South of France

The Medoc region is one of the less visited regions of southern France – and most (overseas) visitors are here for the famous vineyards to the east of the Medoc peninsula such as Chateau Margaux, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Pauillac, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild… …but we aren’t here for the wine, we are visiting the beaches!

If you are looking for a family holiday somewhere on the Bay of St Tropez then the Pierre and Vacances holiday village, Les Restanques is well worth considering. I can say that with confidence because we just spent a week there ourselves and I’m very happy to recommend it, having had a great time! The holiday village has about 500 apartments and villas and is set out on a hill overlooking St Tropez and the bay of Saint Tropez. The [...]

Biarritz is in the south-western corner of France, close to the border with Spain. There are several good reasons to visit this attractive city: – the town itself contains very impressive grand 19th century townhouses with wrought iron balconies and other decoration, and is a pleasure to explore – it is a lively town, where you can shop, eat and drink at all hours

Hot on the heels of our comments about the characteristics of the various coastlines of southern France, here is a photo of the most popular seasort resort in France – Nice. Nice is also a great place to visit, with both easy access to the sunny Mediterranean, and plenty to amuse you in the town when you can’t bear the sea any longer… …some of the highlights of Nice include: – the little cottages behind the harbour – once little [...]

I’m not always a big enthusiast for the beaches of Languedoc-Roussillon. Most of the Languedoc resorts arose in the 1960s and 1970s when the mosquitoes were cleared away from the region to make way for tourists under the so-called ‘Mission Racine’. A fair number of them are dated, crowded, have too much building and development and little of historical interest. The beaches are often long and sandy…and very windswept and lacking for shade. So my expectations when I visited La [...]